Leadership Team

CEO and Executive Vice President

Mark Rubin is responsible for overall management of SPE. He works with the Board of Directors and senior staff to develop strategic and business plans and formulate the organization’s goals, objectives, policies, and programs. He also organizes and directs the global staff organization, which includes offices in Dallas, Houston, Calgary, Kuala Lumpur, Dubai, and London, to ensure the accomplishment of SPE’s mission.

He was appointed executive director of SPE in August 2001. Prior to this appointment, he served as upstream general manager for the American Petroleum Institute (API) in Washington, D.C. He joined API in 1988 and held a series of positions working on federal regulatory and legislative matters as well as technical standards development.

A member of SPE since 1979, Rubin held petroleum engineering positions for Unocal in Houston and east Texas from 1981 to 1987 and for Buttes Resources in Dallas 1987–88. Rubin is a member of the American Society of Association Executives and Council of Engineering and Scientific Society Executives. He has been a member of the National Petroleum Council, Interstate Oil and Gas Compact Commission, and International Association of Oil and Gas Producers. He earned a BS degree in petroleum engineering from Texas A&M University and an MBA from Southern Methodist University.

CFO and Director

Steve Byrne

Steve Byrne is responsible for global finances, including treasury and investment services and coordination of the audit and consolidated financial reporting of all global SPE legal entities.

Before joining SPE, Byrne was controller for ThinkSpark Corporation, an Oracle database consulting firm, for 2½ years. Prior to ThinkSpark, he worked 16 years for ARCO where he held various financial and tax positions in US operations as well as the international division.

He received his BBA in accounting and finance from Texas A&M University in 1983 and became a certified public accountant in 1986.

Chief Global Events Officer

Michelle Boyd

Michelle Boyd joined SPE in 2011 and leads the global event teams based in Calgary, Dallas, Dubai, Houston, Kuala Lumpur, and London. She is responsible for SPE’s portfolio of events that includes large scale international conferences and exhibitions, topical regional conferences and symposiums, invitation-only forums, technical workshops, training courses and seminars.

Before SPE, Michelle was head of conferences for Reed Exhibitions in Abu Dhabi and executive director of conferences and training for the Institute of International Research in Dubai, now the Informa Group.

Michelle began her career in Australia in corporate communications and has run corporate events and communication projects for clients including Pfizer, Optus, Qantas and TNT. She has run events across the Middle East, Europe, Australia, New Zealand, China, Singapore and the United States.

She holds a BA degree from the University of New England and a MA degree in communication management from the University of Technology, Sydney. She is a member of the ASAE.

Vice President, Communications

Glenda Smith

Glenda Smith directs all SPE print and electronic publications, external and internal communications, public relations, and energy education. She joined SPE in 2002 and has previously served as senior manager, web content, and senior manager, technical publications.

A member of SPE since 1990, Smith previously worked for the Oil & Gas Journal , ICF Resources, and the American Petroleum Institute. She is a member of the Council of Engineering and Scientific Society Executives, American Society of Association Executives, and the Society for Scholarly Publishing. She is the author of seven SPE papers.

Smith has a BS in economics from the University of Tulsa and an MBA from George Mason University.

Vice President, Information and Member Services

John Boden

John Boden joined SPE in 2014 and is responsible for SPE’s information technology (IT), member services, technical activities, and data governance programs. He works with executives and senior staff to streamline IT and member programs.

Prior to SPE, Boden was vice president of product innovation and carrier relations at SaskTel, and CTO and SVP corporate development at Movius Interactive. Additionally, he held several other executive level roles leading innovation, strategy, R&D, process improvement, and business development in the telecommunications industry.

Boden graduated from McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, with a B.Eng. degree in engineering physics.

Director, Human Resources and Facilities

Joe Healy

Joe Healy is responsible for global human resources (HR) and facilities at SPE. He works closely with the leadership team to deliver an HR strategy that ensures continuous improvement in resourcing, learning and development, reward practices, relations, people data systems, and health and safety.

Before joining SPE, Joe led HR functions for a number of international companies in a variety of sectors including travel, hospitality, technology, financial services, and non-profit. His most recent role was HR director for Victim Support, an independent charity for people affected by crime and traumatic events in England and Wales.

Healy received a bachelor's degree in geography and economics from the London School of Economics, and a master's degree in urban and regional planning from the University of London. He has worked as a lecturer and teacher in the United Kingdom and Australia, and he is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development.

Director, Member Programs and Services

Jane Boyce

Jane Boyce is responsible for membership activities, which includes membership development and retention, section and regional programs, and young member programs; technical and professional activities, which include technical sections, technical interest groups, certification, and awards; customer service; and the SPE Foundation.

Boyce joined SPE in 1989 as manager, member services. She was also senior manager, member services. Before joining SPE, she held management positions with the American Institute of Banking in Dallas and Life Office Management Association in Atlanta.

She has a BBA degree in management from the University of Oklahoma and is a member of the American Society of Association Executives and the Council of Engineering and Scientific Society Executives.

Director, Americas Events; Executive Director, OTC

Leigh Ann Runyan

Leigh Ann Runyan is responsible for the management of all SPE events throughout the Americas including the Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition, the society’s annual meeting. Her responsibilities include Americas event and exhibit operations, registration services, sponsorships, and training courses. She also has responsibility for the Offshore Technology Conference (OTC) which has an attendance of 70,000-90,000 each year in Houston.

Prior to SPE, Runyan was with the American Heart Association for 21 years where she held several positions in Meetings and Professional Education. Her last position before leaving AHA was vice president, Meetings. Her primary responsibility as vice president was the overall management of the department's 250+ meetings annually.

Runyan graduated from the University of Tulsa with a BS in finance and later received a BS in hotel administration from the University of Nevada at Las Vegas (UNLV). Runyan also holds a master's in hospitality administration from UNLV. She is a certified meeting professional and a member of the Professional Convention Management Association.

Director, Asia Pacific Events

Michelle Tan

Michelle Tan is the director of events for SPE in Asia Pacific, and she leads the events team based in Kuala Lumpur. Tan joined SPE in 2014 and oversees delivery of the region’s conferences and exhibitions, workshops, and forums.

She has 15 years of experience in the global events industry, first joining the Institute for International Research, now an Informa business, in Australia and then moved within the Informa group to New York as managing director of its finance and investment division, responsible for the portfolio of alternative and institutional investments, and wealth management events. Tan’s experience also includes roles in general management and project and program development with IIR Middle East in Dubai, AsianInvestor in Hong Kong, and United Business Media in ASEAN.

Tan is experienced in brand extensions with the expansion of events and has worked with various stakeholders through international and local joint-venture projects in North America, Europe, MENA and Asia. She holds a BA in psychology and sociology from the University of Melbourne, Australia, and her special interests include social entrepreneurship, women and finance, and education.

Director, Europe and Caspian Events

Grigory Zarayskiy

Grigory Zarayskiy joined SPE in 2021 and is now responsible for the management of all SPE events throughout Europe and Caspian region including the SPE Offshore Europe and SPE EuropEC partnerships.

Prior to SPE, Grigory was with Reed Exhibitions for 15 years serving as CEO in Russia and in India. Grigory has also worked for Hilti Russia as Vice President Marketing and led Canon business in the CIS countries.

Grigory graduated from Moscow Institute of Engineering and Physics, with a Master's degree in automation and telemechanics, and later earned an MBA in General Management from Swinburne University of Technology in Melbourne, Australia. Grigory is passionate about travelling the world with his family and civil aviation.

Director, MEASA Events

Julie Atkinson

Julie Atkinson is the director of events for SPE in the Middle East, Africa and South Asia region, and leads the events team based in Dubai, UAE.

Julie joined SPE in 2014 and oversees delivery of the region’s conferences and exhibitions, workshops, and forums. She has over 25 years of experience in the global events industry, starting off in South Africa and Zimbabwe and then as Event Director for (QMDI) Qatar Foundation in Doha, Qatar.

Julie has extensive experience in operations and logistics for large and small scale meetings and is passionate about producing outstanding events, highlighting flagship events for the region including IPTC, MEOS and ADIPEC. Her special interests include reading, movies, fitness and travel.

Director, Latin America and Caribbean Business Development

Solange Ferreira

Solange Ferreira is the director for the SPE activities in Latin America and Caribbean business development. She serves as a strategic liaison and works in close collaboration with all areas to assure the successful execution of SPE programs and initiatives in this geographic region.

Ferreira began working at SPE in 1999, having previously worked in the financial and education divisions of the Brazilian and Canadian governments, and in the logistics and operations of classical music events in Europe and Brazil.She holds a BA in social communications with a specialization in public relations from Pontifical Catholic University of Campinas, Brazil and MA in international management studies from The University of Texas at Dallas. Ferreira also received a degree in convention and meeting management from George Brown College of Applied Arts and Technology, Toronto, Canada. Ferreira fluently speaks English, Spanish, and Portuguese.

Director, Marketing and Virtual Programs

Dana Otillio

Dana Otillio leads the marketing of global events, membership development, member programs, and publications. She also manages the development of SPE’s virtual programs business, including evolving how some traditional SPE products are delivered.

Otillio joined SPE in 2005 and has spent most of her career in marketing and public relations roles. Prior to joining SPE, she was an Associate at Burson-Marsteller, handling crisis communications and media outreach for several energy and utility companies. She also worked in communications roles for the Lafayette Utilities System and the Greater Lafayette Chamber of Commerce.

Otillio received a BLA in Mass Communications from the University of Louisiana.

Director, Information Technology

Kimberly Richardson

Kimberly Richardson joined SPE in 2018. She is responsible for providing vision and leadership for enterprise IT initiatives and is also focused on optimizing the efficiency and performance of existing systems. She oversees technology operations and budgeting, system security, network connectivity, data backup and disaster recovery.

Prior to SPE, Richardson was director of information technology for Pancon Corporation – an innovative manufacturer of electrical connectors and polymer capacitors. Before that, she worked in a number of IT leadership roles for Comcast.

Richardson attended American InterContinental University and is a certified Scrum Master.

Director, Technical Publications

Rebekah Stacha

Rebekah Stacha is responsible for the strategic planning, development and maintenance of SPE’s scholarly journals, books, the digital paper library OnePetro.org and the industry-focused online encyclopedia PetroWiki. Stacha joined SPE in 1998 as the professional development coordinator. She has held a variety of positions in both membership and technical publications over the last 20 years.

Stacha received her BBA in management from Texas A&M University in 1998. She is a Certified Association Executive (CAE) and is active in the Council of Engineering and Scientific Society Executives (CESSE).

General Counsel

Judy Johnston

Judy Johnston provides counsel to all of SPE’s legal entities. She is also SPE's compliance officer. Before joining SPE in 2013, Johnston served in senior counsel positions for JCPenney, from 1989 through 2001, as well as senior counsel positions for Aegon Direct Marketing (Transamerica), Countrywide Financial, and SuperMedia. Johnston is recognized for her knowledge of corporate, contract, international, intellectual property, and privacy laws.

Johnston holds a BS degree in biology-chemistry from Oklahoma Christian University and a JD degree from Southern Methodist University School of Law. She is currently a member of the Texas and Oklahoma Bar Associations as well as the International Association of Privacy Professionals.